Funding shortfalls could cause major readiness problems, leaders warn – By Leo Shane III (Military Times) / July 19, 2022
Service leaders warned Tuesday that underfunded readiness accounts could lead to insufficient training for troops, unfinished equipment maintenance and a host of other problems for military leaders.
But lawmakers said Pentagon planners are partially to blame for the readiness funding shortfalls, and that military leadership needs to do a better job prioritizing operation and maintenance accounts in their budget requests if they want to avoid those issues.
“When you submit your budgets, they do not call for 100% of the readiness needs across the line,” said Rep. John Garamendi, R-Calif., head of the House Armed Services Committee’s panel on readiness. “So what you are submitting to is already insufficient in your own view before it winds up with us.”
The Defense Department’s fiscal 2023 budget request includes about $135 billion in readiness spending, including money for field logistics, training exercises and platform maintenance. Officials estimated that total is about 85% of what is actually needed to fully fund the military’s readiness requirements.
